A Terrifying Experience During Pregnancy
Chapter 1
Seven months pregnant, I went to book a postpartum care center.
During the contract signing, the staff member typed in my information.
She gave me a weird look.
“Ms. Sullivan, our system shows your husband registered here six months ago.”
“But the spouse isn’t you.”
I was totally confused.
I showed her my wedding photos with Jake to prove it.
The staff member rolled her eyes at me.
She pulled up the information page directly.
“Mr. Johnson got married five years ago.
They already have two kids.”
“Here’s their marriage certificate and a photo of them at our center.”
In the picture, my husband was holding a baby, surrounded by a woman I didn’t recognize.
They were acting all lovey-dovey, like a newlywed couple.
And the man on the marriage certificate was definitely my husband!
If they’re married, then who am I?!
01
“Mr. Johnson’s wife is a platinum member here.
It’s unbelievable that some people try to pull this.
Get out!
We don’t serve shameless pregnant women here.”
The receptionist looked down her nose at me, sizing me up before kicking me out without letting me explain.
By the time I snapped out of it, the center doors were slammed shut.
I was so confused, remembering the wedding certificate photo and information I’d just seen.
It was definitely Jake’s face, his info, his name.
But I didn’t know the woman in the picture at all.
Why would Jake hide the fact that he’s already married?
I was getting angrier by the second.
I couldn’t wait to call Jake and demand an explanation.
But my calls kept going straight to voicemail.
My texts were disappearing into the ether.
Then I remembered he was on a business trip overseas, probably tied up with work.
His company was planning to expand internationally, preparing for an IPO down the road.
This trip was for a crucial deal.
If he could close it, the company would hit another level.
Since I couldn’t reach Jake, I had to tamp down my emotions and wait for him to give me an explanation.
If I found out it was true, he was going to be sorry!
Just then, Jake finally video-called me.
“Honey, I was in a meeting and couldn’t check my messages.”
The screen lit up with a familiar face.
Jake was sitting in his office wearing a sharp suit.
Several half-empty cups of tea were steaming beside him, like he’d just wrapped up a conference.
His tired face tugged at my heart.
I almost asked if he was doing okay.
But the memories of what I’d just seen yanked me back to reality.
I looked at him and angrily demanded, “Jake, are you keeping something from me?
Are you seeing someone else?”
The guy on the screen, who’d been smiling just a second ago, turned ashen white.
He practically dropped to his knees in front of the camera.
“Honey, no!
I only love you!”
“There’s never been anyone else!”
He scrambled to show me the whole office to prove there were no signs of a woman.
“Who’s been filling your head with lies about me?!”
“Was it some media rumor?
When I get back, I’ll deal with them!”
“Honey, you have to believe me, I only love you!”
His pale face and frantic gestures reassured me a bit.
Jake and I were college sweethearts.
He had a crush on me from day one.
After two years of pining, he finally plucked up the courage to ask me out.
He came at me with a huge bouquet of roses, stumbling over his words and making a bunch of hilarious mistakes.
Even though he had this naturally reserved, cool demeanor, he was so shy and bashful.
The contrast piqued my curiosity.
After “researching” him for six months, I started to fall for him and we finally got together.
After graduation, he started his own company to give me a better life.
He built it from the ground up in just two years, never complaining about the hardships.
And when he finally succeeded, he gave me all his stock as a dowry.
I still remember the proposal.
He stood under the moonlight and swore to me.
“I’ll only ever love you.
All my money is yours.”
“If I ever hurt you, you can take everything I own and I’ll never be able to recover.”
He offered me everything he had, showing me his true feelings.
In that moment, I knew he was the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
After we got married, he waited on me hand and foot.
He took care of all the household stuff.
Everyone knew that Jake was obsessed with me and always got home before 7 pm.
How could a guy who loved me so much have another family on the side?
Thinking about it, my doubts started to fade.
“Okay, I’ll believe you for now.
But if I find out you’re playing around, you’re dead!”
He reassured me over and over again, and I finally hung up, satisfied.
The weight lifted from my chest.
I was about to look for another postpartum center.
Then I got a call from my assistant.
The person in charge of the company’s new product launch had been in an accident on the way to work.
The company was in chaos with no one to take charge.
My assistant couldn’t reach Jake, so she had to call me for help.
This launch was crucial for our company’s transition.
We couldn’t afford to mess it up.
After thinking it over, I decided to head to the office and deal with the immediate crisis.
2
Two hours later, I arrived at the office on time.
The media was all set up, but they couldn’t find anyone to host.
When my assistant saw me, she looked like she’d seen a savior.
I told her to go to the hospital and make sure our employee was okay.
She left, and I took a breath to calm down.
Then, I walked into the conference hall, ready for the press conference.
As soon as I entered the room, a few executives saw me and started whispering to each other.
I assumed they’d just never met me.
I smiled and said hello, but they backed away like they were scared.
I ignored it, introduced myself, and was about to announce that the press conference was starting.
Suddenly, there was a commotion and a woman stood up.
She pulled out a marriage certificate and waved it at the cameras.
“Excuse me, miss.
You say you’re the CEO’s wife?
Then what am I?”
I was stunned.
Wasn’t this the woman from the postpartum center who had a “marriage certificate” with Jake?
How did she even get into Jake’s company’s press conference?
I didn’t recognize her, but looking closer, her clothes and jewelry were my style.
Especially the limited-edition bag she was carrying.
Jake waited in line forever to get it for me.
I was starting to get really angry.
“Security?
What’s going on here?”
The press conference instantly filled with people looking for a show.
The comments section was flooded with hate towards me.
[Our Ashley is a famous influencer. Everyone knows her husband spoils her. I never thought there’d be a homewrecker trying to take her man.]
[So Ashley was serious an hour ago when she said she was going to catch a mistress? Ashley’s husband is the CEO of Johnson Corp?]
Ashley smirked, opening the marriage certificate and shoving it in front of the camera.
“My husband and I have been married for five years.
We’re together every day.
How would I not know if he had someone else?”
As soon as she said that, her fans swarmed me like a pack of wolves.
[Who knows where she got knocked up? Trying to latch onto a relationship and cash in. What a joke!]
[If you’re Jake’s wife, show us your marriage certificate.]
[Looking like that, does she even look in the mirror? Jake would never fall for her. I’m gonna throw up!]
I couldn’t believe it.
Jake and I had a legally binding marriage.
The baby in my stomach wasn’t a bastard.
“Please don’t make false accusations. Jake and I are legally married. We founded this company together.”
I opened my phone to find a backup of our marriage certificate, but I couldn’t find it anywhere.
Then I remembered, I tore up our marriage certificate in a fit of youthful passion right after we got it.
Now that the baby needed to be registered, we were still waiting for a replacement.
As soon as I said that, Ashley smiled.
“I knew she couldn’t produce it. Because I’m Jake’s wife.”
The internet joined in, echoing her sentiments.
[Yeah, we’ve been watching Ashley build her brand. Jake is always so good to Ashley. There’s no way he’d be interested in someone like her.]
I was so confused.
Jake was always swamped with work.
Whenever he had free time, he spent it with me.
How could he be involved with Ashley, running a couple’s account together?
Seeing Ashley’s mocking expression, I angrily questioned, “Your marriage certificate is fake. Faking federal documents will get you thrown in jail.”
When Ashley saw that I was still refusing to accept it, she pulled out a stack of photos and threw them in my face.
They showed Jake growing up, the two of them snuggled together, like childhood sweethearts.
The conference room doors opened, and a little boy walked in.
His face was just like Jake’s, and he had the same aura.
“Mom, who’s causing trouble at my dad’s company?”
He knew the company well, acting like he’d been there a million times.
Instantly, the internet exploded with angry comments.
[This kid looks just like Jake! That’s it! This homewrecker needs to stop destroying families.]
Ashley raised her head proudly, looking at me like I was garbage.
“Stop dreaming. I’m Jake’s wife.”
“Be realistic. Not everyone can be a Cinderella story.”
How could this be?
How could this kid look so much like Jake?
I couldn’t help but panic, but when I thought about how lovingly Jake treated me, my mind was a mess.
I frantically called Jake a dozen times, but he didn’t answer.
“Are you crazy? Letting people bully your wife? Do you want to die?”
“Come out and clear this up, or you’ll regret it!”
The blood was boiling in my veins.
I tried to stay calm.
Jake looked exhausted a few hours ago.
He was probably sleeping now.
And his phone was always on silent when he slept.
Maybe he couldn’t answer the phone.
So, I called Chad, Jake’s best friend.
They’d grown up together since they were little kids.
He answered quickly.
My voice was raspier than ever.
“Chad, is Jake seeing someone else?”
Chad was probably still sleeping, but he woke up instantly when he heard that.
“Mrs. Sullivan! Who told you Jake was cheating?! Who’s spreading these lies?”
“I swear, Jake hasn’t cheated. Mrs. Sullivan, you’re his only wife.”
Hearing that, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Chad was a famous actor.
He would never help me lie.
I played the call recording for everyone.
For sure, Chad wouldn’t lie for me.
For a second, the comments section split.
[That’s Chad! Why would he lie? Could this woman really be Jake’s wife?]
[No way. Ashley’s kid looks just like Jake. Looks like he’s really his son.]
I raised an eyebrow.
“There are a lot of people in this world who look alike. Plus, people are evil.”
“Who knows if this kid got plastic surgery? You can’t tell just by looking at his face if he’s Jake’s kid.”
Seeing that I was still stubborn, Ashley frowned, a mocking smile on her lips.
She took out her phone and video-called Jake, who picked up immediately.
She projected the phone screen onto the big screen at the press conference.
Next, Jake’s face popped up.
I saw that face every day.
I knew it so well.
He wouldn’t answer my call, but he picked up Ashley’s instantly.
I was so angry I felt dizzy.
He better clear this up, or he would regret it when he got back.
But next thing I knew, I froze.
Jake’s voice was so gentle.
“Honey, what are you doing?”
The little boy ran over and sweetly called him “Dad.”
Jake smiled.
“Have you been listening to your mom?”
The little boy nodded, then wrinkled his face like he’d remembered something.
“Yeah, but people are making my mom angry.
Today, some woman said my mom was a homewrecker and embarrassed her in public.”
Hearing that, Jake looked surprised, but his face quickly filled with rage.
“Who do these scumbags think they are, causing trouble at Johnson Corp?
I only have one wife: Ashley.”
“Ashley, fight back.
I got your back, honey.”
Ashley ran up to me and slapped me hard across the face.
“I’ve been putting up with you.
I didn’t expect you to get worse.
Now that I’ve proven myself, you should accept it.”
I stood there, stunned, pale.
“This isn’t possible.
That’s not Jake.
Jake would never do that to me.”
“Give me the phone!
I want to ask him what’s going on!”
I reached out to grab the phone and confront Jake myself.
But Ashley wouldn’t let me.
Seeing me coming, she looked panicked.
She quickly backed away and yelled at me.
“What are you doing! He’s my husband!
You can’t argue, so you get violent?”
“Security?
Is there any security here! Get this bitch out of here!”
Everything was chaos.
The security guards came to drag me away.
I clutched my stomach and looked at them.
“I’m pregnant.
If you touch me and something happens, can you take responsibility?”
When the security guards saw my big belly, they stopped and looked at me awkwardly.
“Ma’am, this is a press conference.
Please leave.”
I was furious.
“Are you blind?
Can’t you see who’s causing trouble?”
I didn’t know what Ashley was up to.
The face on the video was Jake’s, but the technology these days was so advanced.
AI face-swapping was a thing.
Unless I saw the real Jake standing in front of me, I wasn’t going to believe it.
Thinking, I realized there was someone who could prove my identity.
“That’s right! My mother-in-law can prove who I am.”
I fumbled for my phone, about to call my mother-in-law.
But when I saw Ashley, I turned the screen off again.
“You say you’re Jake’s wife, then you must have his mother’s phone number.”
“Jake’s not here, so you can fake as many things as you want, so I can’t prove that you’re his wife.”
“If you can, call my mother-in-law and let’s see if she says you’re her daughter-in-law.”
My mother-in-law was a famous painter who often appeared all over the world.
Even if Ashley had the guts, she couldn’t fake her.
Plus, my mother-in-law loved me.
Right after I married into the family, she gave me her family heirloom jade bracelet.
Every time we argued, she would always take my side and nag Jake.
My mother-in-law treated me like her own daughter.
Now that I was pregnant, she gave me $50,000 to buy supplements to boost my nutrition.
Ashley pursed her lips, saying sarcastically, “You just won’t give up until you hit a wall. Do you even have it?”
As soon as she said that, she called my mother-in-law, sounding aggrieved.
“Mom, there’s someone causing trouble at the company, saying I’m a homewrecker. Please come here and stand up for me.”
Ashley put it on speaker.
From the phone, I heard a familiar voice.
“Who dares to touch my precious daughter-in-law? I’ll stand up for you right away.”
Instantly, the comments section was in shock.
[Stop guessing, Ashley is definitely the real wife. What mother-in-law would be so nice to a fake daughter-in-law?]
[Sue, that bitch, is always thinking about becoming a phoenix.]
[She’s been slapped in the face so many times, but she’s still trying. She has no shame.]
I looked at Ashley in disbelief.
She shook the phone at me.
“My mother-in-law said I was Jake’s wife. You still don’t believe it.”
I clenched my fists.
My chest was churning.
My shoulders were trembling.
“Mom, it’s Sue.
I’m your daughter-in-law.
How can you help some random outsider?”
Before I could finish, Ashley took the phone away.
She slapped me in the face.
“What are you yelling about?
Who said you could call her ‘Mom’?”
Ashley sounded aggrieved, acting like a child with my mother-in-law.
“Mom, please come to the company and prove who I am.
Otherwise, some bitch will always try to become a phoenix.”
The person on the other end must have been someone else in disguise.
I took out my phone and texted my mother-in-law.
I briefly told her what had happened today and asked her to come to the company to prove who I was.
My mother-in-law replied quickly, saying she’d drive to the company right away.
Knowing my mother-in-law, Ashley would be kicked out.
Once my mother-in-law arrived, the truth would be out.
Soon, my mother-in-law’s car pulled up in front of the building.
She got out, walking slowly because of her signature cane.
Seeing that it was really my mother-in-law, I was relieved.
I quickly went up to support her.
“Mom, you’re finally here.”
“Please tell them, which one of us is your daughter-in-law?”
5
My mother-in-law took off her glasses and looked at me, squinting.
“I know you.”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
Finally, someone could prove who I was.
I looked at Ashley, feeling like I’d won.
This time, I would ruin her reputation.
My mother-in-law looked at me, the corners of her mouth turning up, playful.
“You slept with my son.”
“You weren’t pregnant back then.
My son didn’t want to, and tried to get you dressed and send you home.”
“I never expected you to be so picky, or to have a relationship with the housekeeper.”
The room turned cold.
I stood there, stunned, in disbelief.
“How could you, you must be lying.”
The comments section was shocked by my reaction.
“How shameless can she be? Not only does she think her husband is a fake, but her mother-in-law too. Does that mean she’s the real deal?”
“So the kid in her stomach is a bastard, but she’s just pretending, trying to take over?”
My mother-in-law raised her hand and brushed her bangs away, revealing a clear scar on her forehead.
I remembered that scar was from the day I got married.
My mother-in-law hadn’t believed it and ran into a cabinet, leaving the mark.
How could the fake mother-in-law have it?
This fake woman must be someone close to my mother-in-law, so she could observe her so closely.
The old woman walked up to me and slapped me hard across the face.
“What are you talking about? I don’t know anything about having a daughter-in-law who sleeps around.”
“My daughter-in-law is Ashley. Daring to mix our blood with the kid in her stomach? You’re disgusting.”
I screamed, broken, “That’s not possible, that’s not possible.”
“My mother-in-law has always been nice to me.
She’d never say anything like that. You’re lying.”
I remembered a while back when I had a fever.
Jake was overseas, so my mother-in-law fed me medicine and stayed up with me for a few nights.
Since I got pregnant, I had morning sickness and couldn’t eat.
My mother-in-law took care of me, thinking of ways to make my favorite food.
My mother-in-law was always so elegant.
She would never say something to ruin my reputation in public.
Now, everything had changed.
I needed to call the police.
Only the police could prove who I was.
Sweat dripped from my forehead.
I fumbled for my phone, about to call the police, but my mother-in-law knocked it out of my hand.
“You worthless woman, do you know that Johnson Corp is at a critical time in its development? You’re trying to kill my son.”
My mother-in-law was right.
Johnson Corp. was facing some serious problems.
I was afraid.
Luckily, I hadn’t called the police, or I would have dragged Jake into the controversy.
My mother-in-law was usually so kind.
She would never yell at anyone.
I was determined to stick to my beliefs.
“You’re lying. I’m going to expose you.”
As soon as I said that, Ashley couldn’t stand it anymore.
She rushed up and started attacking me.
“You dare to keep trying to steal my man?
Believe it or not, I can make you and your bastard disappear.”
As soon as she said that, the bodyguards my mother-in-law brought with her surrounded me.
They kicked me hard, and I tried to protect the baby in my stomach.
In the middle of it, Ashley grabbed my hair and slapped me across the face.
“Even if you die, we’ll pay the cost.
Please, shut up.”
“Security, throw this bitch out.”
I protected the baby in my stomach, but Ashley pushed me to the ground.
My mother-in-law rushed over and kicked my stomach.
She wasn’t satisfied, and punched me in the chest.
“Bitch, I’ve been putting up with you for too long.”
“I’m going to show everyone what a slut you are.”
Pain shot through me.
I curled up, but she lifted my hair and slapped my face.
She yelled, “You’re such a slut, you dare to sleep with my son.”
“Dare to ruin my son’s happiness, just die!”
I cried, but couldn’t fight back against all of them.
Next, the conference room doors were kicked open.
I heard Jake’s voice.
He yelled, “Stop, let go of my wife!”
